Demographer: Baby Boomers, grandparents 'a major economic force'

The gray tsunami of Baby Boomers means a rapidly rising tide of grandparents.

That means grandparents "have now become a major economic force," said nationally known demographer Peter Francese.

In the past grandparents, according to Francese, grandparents have been "pretty invisible in the American economy."

But the Baby Boomers, he said, are numerous, highly educated, highly skilled and with the largest assets compared to other generations.

As an example of grandparents' new-found economic influence, his research found that a third of the tuitions paid at a private prep school in southern Maine was being paid by the child's grandparents.

Francese did a presentation Friday about the 2010 census and demographics for a New Hampshire regional planning commission.

While his presentation was geared toward New Hampshire, much of his data about Baby Boomers applies nationwide.

Baby Boomers age 55 to 64 are the largest population in the country, and he said the size of that population will affect everything from health care to housing.

States with large Baby Boomer populations, including New Hampshire, will see a shift of health care costs to Medicare and Medicaid because the aging Boomers will bring them more serious ailments that are more costly to treat.

According to Francese, states will also see a growing trend toward age restricted communities.

A challenge to states everywhere, said Francese, will be replenishing the workforce with skilled workers as the generally highly educated and highly skilled Baby Boomers retire.